Washer for bottles of different sizes



July 7, 1931. a. L. N. MEYER WASHER FOR BOTTLES OF DIFFERENT SIZES Filed Dec. 12, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet v INVENTOR AKV ATTORNEY WITNESSEJS Myfl y 7, 1931- G. L. N. MEYER WASHER FOR BOTTLES OF DIFFERENT SIZES Filed Dec. 12, 1928 2 SheetsSheet 2 4 ////l n n n n A TTORNE Y m I-m 1 II W HH IL H 2 a a z, w a

Patented July 7, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE L. N. MEYER, OF JACKSON HEIGHTS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB TO GEO. J. MEYER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF GUDAHY, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WIS OONSIN WASHER FOR BOTTLES OF DIFFERENT STZES Application filed December 12, 1928. Serial No. 325,449.

This invent-ion has for its object to provide a bottle washing machine capable of operating simultaneously upon bottles of different sizes.

Another object of the invention is to provide attachments for a bot-tle washing machine adapting it for this purpose.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in the bottle washer for bottles of different sizes as herein claimed and all equivalents.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like characters of reference indicate the same parts in different views,

Fig. 1 is a side view of a portion of a bottle washing machine embodying the features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view thereof through one of the rows of'brushing spindles and showing the bottles of different sizes clamped and undergoing the brushing operation;

Fig. 3 is a similar viewshowing the brushes withdrawn and the. bottles unclamped;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showng two rows of bottles clamped and ready for the brushing operation, parts being sectioned on the left of said figure through the end bottle station and on the right of said figure through the next bottle station, and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3, of a modified form of brush tube extension.

In these drawings, 10 indicates the frame of the machine or so much thereof as is necessary to illustrate the inside brushing mechanism of the bottle washing machine, which is of the type covered by Letters Patent 1,429,960 to George J. Meyer, dated September 26, 1922. On this frame is mounted a traveling endless chain conveyer made up of articulated rows of pockets 11 carrying bottles and supported by rollers 13 traveling on angle tracks 14. The intermittently moving chain conveyer serves to bring the bottles in an inverted position to the inside brushing mechanism, with which the present invention is concerned, and to conduct them therefrom, as well as similarly serving other mechanism, not shown. The portion of the stationary frame 10 shown forms -a vertical guideway 15, within which three distinct mechanisms operate to clamp the bottles above and below and to insert rotating fountain cleaning brushes thereinwhile so clamped. The upper clamping mechanism 16 has slide bearing projections 17 travelin in the slots 15, and is connected at both ends y adjustable extensible connecting rods 18 with walking beams or levers 19 fulcrumed at 20 on the frame, the other ends of said levers having adjustable link connections 21 with the lower clamping members 22, and link connections 23 with suitably actuated operating levers 24. Thus, when the operating levers 24 are raised from the position shown in Fig. 1, they swing the Walking beams 19 to lift the lower clamping members 22 and lower the upper clamping members 16 to clamp the bottles between them in a manner which will later appear.

The hand wheel 25 on walking beam levers 19 is for simultaneously adjusting the length of both of the extensible link members 18 to vary the distance between the upper and lower clamping members and thereby adapt the machine for bottles of different sizes.

.This adjustment, however, is to take care of changes in the sizes of the bottles operated upon throughout the whole row of bottles in each bottle carrier, that is it affords adjustment for changing the entire machine from pint size bottles to quart size bottles, for example.

The lower clamping mechanism 22 is likewise mounted on slide bearing projections 26 traveling in the vertical guideways 15. Also the brush mechanism or gear box 27 thereof is slidably mounted on slide bearing projections 28 traveling in the vertical guideways 15 and is raised and loweredby suitable lever and link mechanism 29, onl parts of which are shown, and is provided wlth a gear shaft 30 having a pulley 31, which is driven in a suitable manner notwithstanding the traveling movements of the brushing mechanism.

When the clamping members 16 and 22 approach each other the bottles in the two rows of pockets in the position for inside brushing are clamped between spring-pressed funnel members 32 on the lower clamping member engaging the m uths of the bottles and lifting the bottles slightly from their bearings necessary to clamp the larger bottles and the in the pockets and topgauges 33 carriedby safety stop feature is retained for the small the upper clamping member and engagin bo ttles as ,well as the large bottles. This the upturned bottoms of the bottles. It is su safety stop feature consists in the ability of ficient for the purpose of this invention to the swinging arm 34 to be raised to stop the m v state that the top gauges 33 are carried by machine in the event of abnormal pressure the upper clamping member 16, but in fact being applied thereto, as when thebrush is they are carried'by swinging arms 34 pivot-. prevented from entering a bottle by the presally mounted in rows across the upper clampence of a crown ca thereon. In that event ing member held in their operative positions the brush presses t e bottle against the top by pairs of spring-engaging fingers 35 there-' gauge to lift the swinging arm 34 and cause on grasping diagonally opposite corners of the machine to be stopped as heretofore. It square clamping rods 36, permitting the top is also necessary to substitute a shorter brush gauges 33 to yield upwardly when subjected spindle at the small bottle station provided to an abnormal pressure and thereby lift a with a smaller brush suitablefor the smaller cross-bar 37 to operate a stop mechanism for bottles and, as this brush spindle is subject stopping the operation of the machine in the to the same retracting movement as the longmanner coveredinPatent 1,503,512 to George er spindles, there is a possibility that the J. Meyer, dated August 5,1924. I brush may be carried so far beneath the The bottle brushing mechanism includes a brush tube 40 that it may be injured or fail pair of rows of tubular brush spindles 38 carto enter the brush tube on the next operation. lied on the gear box27 and suitably driven To prevent this possibility the present ini by the shaft 30 thereof and supplied with vention provides an extension for the, brush water or other cleaning fluid under pressure tube 40 which may consist of a flaring skirt timed with the cleaning operation, such 45, shown in Figs. 2 and 3, oratubular exteno spindles carrying on their upperends rotary s1on 46 of the same diameter as the brush cleaning brushes39 extending well up against tube, as shown in Fig. 5, ,These extensions the bottoms of the bottles in the uppermost for the brush tube are preferably carried by a position of the brushing mechanism shown in stop 41' so that, in order to adapt a bottle Fig. 2 and withdrawn to the central brush station for smaller bottles, a skirted or -95 tube 40 in the lower position of the brushing sleeved stop 41 is substituted for the OI'dl-z mechanism, as shown in Fig. 3. v nary stop 41. With this substitution a travel When the brushes are withdrawn within of the shorterbrush spindle which would the brush tubes -40 and the lower clamping carry its brush beneath the brush tube will mechanism 22 is moved downwardly to renot injure the brush as the extension serves to lease the bottles each spring-pressed funnel keep the brush bristles directed upwardly, 32 with its brush tube moves upwardly until ready to reenter the tubeand bottle and thus a stop 41 threaded on the end of the brush prevent the rapid wear of the brush which tube engages the bottom of the spring houswould result if the bristles were bent downi g, wardly each time the brush was raised. Also While it has heretofore been possible to failure of the brush to reenter the tube is change the entire machine from its adjustmade impossible by the extension of the tube ments for operating upon one size bottle to with either the flaring skirt 45 or the tubular adjustments for operating on another size extension 46 of the same-diameter as the bottle, as previously mentioned, no provision brush tube. The flaring skirt extension 45 is 1 has been made for adapting the machine to desirable where the upper end of the brush operate on different size bottles at the same spindle bearing 47 is to be accommodated time and this is very desirable for, in the therein, as shown in Fig. 2. cleaning of bottles for some purposes, it is By means of the features of the present inmore convenient to provide for one or more ventiona bottle washing machine may have stations for smaller bottles in each row and one or more of its bottle stations readily so avoid the loss of time in changing adjustadapted for bottles of smaller size by merements. In the machine illustrated the end ly inserting the spacing block 44 between the station in the bottle row 1s given over to the top gauge and its swinging arm for that stause of small bottles 42, while all other station using longer attaching screws 33' as tions in the row are glven to the use of large shown and by substituting the smaller'brush bottles 43 and the machine is set or adjusted and brush spindle and the tube extension so for operation on the large bottles. The difthat, without change in the adjustment of ferenee 1n the length of the bottles is comthe machine for operating on the larger botv pensated for by provldmg a spacing block tles, the machine may be run with bottles of 44 between the top gauge 33 of the small botboth sizes. tle station and the swinging arm 34. Thus The term station is used to indicate the the smaller bottle may be plamped with the bottle position in the row. Thus the end botsame degree of ressure with such clamping tle, as shown in Fig. 2, of smaller size occumovement of t e clamping members asis pies one station, while the larger bottles 00- cupy other stations and when the machine is set as shown the smaller size bottles will always be fed to that pocket or station of each carrier for which the station change has been made adapting it for such smaller bottles. What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a bottle washing machine of the type in which rows of bottles in a series of stations are clamped between upper and lower clamping members and in which brush spindles carrying brushes are admitted to the bottles through brush tubes of the lower clamping members, means for adapting a bottle station to clean smaller bottles comprising an extension secured to the upper clamping member, a shorter brush spindle and smaller brush for said station, and an extension for the brush tube at said station secured to the lower end of the tube to prevent the brush bristles bending backwardly.

2. In a bottle washing machine of the type in which rows of bottles in a series of stations are clamped between upper and lower clamping members and in which brush spindles carrying brushes are admitted to the bottles through brush tubes of the lower clamping members which tubes form parts of spring pressed funnels for engaging the mouths of bottles and which carry removable stops for limiting their upward movement, means for adapting a bottle station to clean smaller bottles-comprising an extension secured to the upper clamping member, a shorter brush :5 spindle and smaller brush for said station, and an extension for the brush tube at said station carried by the stop at the lower end thereof to prevent the brush bristles bending backwardly.

Q 3. In a bottle washing machine of the type in which rows of bottles are clamped between upper and lower clamping members and in which brushing members comprisin spindles carrying brushes are admitted to t e bottles 4| through brush tubes of the lower clamping members, means for accommodating a smaller bottle in one position in the row comprising a block forming a spacer between the upper clamping member and its support, a shorter brushing member at said position in the row, and a sleeve forming an extension at the lower end of the brush tube to prevent the brush bristles bending backwardly.

In testimony whereof, I aflix m signature. GEORGE L. N. YER. 

